The Best Witch
by TheObsessedFanboy
Summary: Isabella Hubble is determined to set a good impression on her first day at Cackle's Academy, but that can be difficult when the strictest teacher sees you as nothing else but a duplicate of your sister and your cousin. But Isabella has prepared for this - will she be able to turn the family title of "The Worst Witch In The School" upside down?
1. The Best Witch In The Entire School

**AN Welcome to my first fanfiction for The Worst Witch! I used to be obsessed with this show and I recently rekindled that obsession. Sorry if any of the characters featured in the original TWW seem OOC.**

The school song rang clear throughout the crisp, foggy air as girls flew over Walker's Gate and into the courtyard of Cackle's Academy. Friends chatted with one another, discussing the happenings of their summer holidays and talking about the new spells they had discovered and experimented with. Some of the kinder teachers welcomed their students back.

The new girls still hadn't entered the school. Most of them were waiting outside, queueing impatiently, but a few hadn't turned up yet. One girl heard a couple of others laughing at how they might not even make it to the school before the other girls entered, and then the gate would close on them.

"-And they'll have to sleep in the woods all night and walk all the way back to get the bus home!" one particularly stuck up girl laughed. The girl who heard her spun around.

"Shut up, will you? I'm sick of hearing your voice! Just because the others aren't here yet! It's not like they were given a map or anything to help them find their way."

"Then why couldn't they just fly here?"  
"Because they haven't learn to yet? That's why we're here."  
The mean girl shot the other one a nasty look.

"You didn't have any trouble, I see. May I ask how you learned?"

The girl straightened up.

"My sister taught me."

"And who _is _your sister?"

"Mildred Hubble."

The girl scoffed.

"Mildred Hubble? My sister, Harriet Goodcharm, was in her year. Told me how she was always causing trouble and never got _anything_ right. Bet you'll be just like her. _Useless_."

The worst witch's younger sister turned around and didn't talk to the girl again.

* * *

Thankfully, the last few girls managed to join the line before the gate opened. When it did, the girls began to walk in, hearing quite a chilly song being sung to them – or, more rather, threatened to them – from the girls who were crowding around them. They felt rather intimidated.

After the girls had gathered in the courtyard, a woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She wore completely black clothing, which matched with her strikingly pale complexion. She had black hair tied up into a bun. She look very strict.

"Miss Hardbroom," the Hubble girl whispered. The woman heard her.

"Yes. That is my name? And what, might I ask, is yours?"

The girl was terrified.

"I-I-Isabella, Miss."

Miss Hardbroom looked on the register that she was holding in her hands and, once she found Isabella's full name, opened her eyes wide and gasped.

"Welcome to the school, Isabella," the headteacher smiled at her. She had been with Miss Hardbroom when she appeared. She had short grey hair and was rather plump. She looked like she would be kind.

"New girls, you are to stay outside!" Miss Hardbroom shouted, sternly. "Everyone else, get in!"

Once everyone else had filed inside, Miss Hardbroom ordered the new girls into line. She registered them. Olivia Attallwood, Felicity Goodcharm, Kaitlin Kavensworth...all of the names sounded the same to Isabella. Some people snickered on hearing Hubble, probably due to hearing stories from older siblings about Mildred. This infuriated Isabella.

After the register was done, Miss Hardbroom and Miss Cackle talked about the school a bit and then let the girls go inside and see their rooms. Isabella had been placed next to a girl called Astrid Atherfew.

The room itself was dismal, just like Mildred had described. Iron bed, hard mattress, no window pane. There weren't any bats hanging upside down, like Mildred said there could possibly be. Cold air blew in, making Isabelle shiver. Tired, she saw her grey, dull nightgown laid on the bed. She immediately got out of her clothes and put on the nightgown and, although it didn't make her any warmer, crawled beneath the bed covers. She was just drifting off to sleep when a knock came at the door.

"Hello? Can I come in? I'm Astrid. My room's next door."

Isabella got out of bed and opened the door. Astrid was a girl with a very pale complexion and strikingly black hair that fell to the beginning of her rib cage. She had a kind smile and looked very friendly.

"I'm Isabella," the younger Hubble sister held out her hand. "Do you want to come in?"

"Oh, I daren't. We should be in bed and I only wanted to come and say hello. Miss Hardbroom will be -"

A voice from nowhere spoke.

"-Checking on you right this instant!" Miss Hardbroom materialised next to Astrid. "Astrid Atherfew, go to bed now! Isabella Hubble, I do not care for what your sister has told you! You are not permitted to go wandering the castle at night as you wish! To bed, both of you, now!"

With that, the woman disappeared.

Astrid darted into her room and Isabella into her bed.

* * *

The next morning, Isabella's class sat in the Potions laboratory, waiting for their form mistress. Everyone knew it would be Miss Hardbroom, because she taught Potions. They were watching her desk, expecting her to appear any moment before their eyes.

"And _what _are we all staring at, girls?" a sharp voice suddenly rang behind them, making them all jump. A few girls gasped and one girl screamed. Miss Hardbroom seemed slightly pleased with the result, though she instantly threw away the quiver on the edge of her lip.

She sat down and stared at the girls, as if trying to weed them out and pick out their personalities.

"Good morning, girls."

"Good morning, Miss Hardbroom."

Miss Hardbroom smiled at the clear, sharp response she had earned. It wasn't a slow, chorus type reply, like the one she might be used to. Quick and speedy, that's how she liked it.

"As you have probably already guessed, if any of you have any brains in you -," here she gave a stern glance at Isabella. "- I am to be your form mistress for the coming year. Now, the first thing I wish to do is to provide you each with a copy of the Witches' Code, which you will all find very useful in taking the time read. I will now choose someone to hand them out."

The woman placed a large pile of books on her desk and eyed the crowd of girls. In the end, her sight landed on Isabella.

"You."

Isabella confidently stood up and picked up the books. She handed them out and sat down, smiling at Miss Hardbroom. The woman seemed utterly shocked, having expected the girl to trip or try and magic the books to everyone and then having them burst into flames.

"Thank you," she said, very hastily, and stood up. She kept on looking at Isabella, most likely expecting her to open the book. Isabella kept her hand on her knees. "You may open the books now, girls!"

The pupils obeyed and opened their books, flipping through pages, their eyes widening with each turn.

"As you may see, there are many rules that you have to abide by to be a successful and respectable witch. However, you will find that they are not as hard to follow as you may think."  
Astrid, who was sitting next to Isabella, leaned closer to her.

"That's what she says," she whispered. "There are more rules in here than there are spells!"

"QUIET!" Miss Hardbroom shouted at Astrid. "Now, girls, I must tell you that your Broomstick Basic Aptitude Test is coming up in two weeks. You may find that it is not important but, should you fail this test, you will be going straight home. Is that clear? Good. Now, to prepare, you are to assemble in the courtyard at exactly thirty minutes past the thirteenth hour for your first flying lesson."

* * *

As instructed, the girls gathered in the courtyard, along with their broomsticks. They were chattering excitedly and Felicity Goodcharm, the mean girl from the day before, had already begun hovering. Isabella knew she could but thought that she might be told off for it, should she be caught.

Suddenly, one of the girls shouted and pointed towards the sky. A black figure was flying down with a very pretty touch of elegance. Miss Hardbroom landed in front of the girls and stood.

"Good afternoon, everyone!"

The class said it back.

"Now, flying a broom is not _nearly _as easy as it seems. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, determination, practice and _carefulness_." She stared at Isabella here, obviously thinking of the times that both Mildred and Hettie, Isabella's cousin, had crashed into the school bins. "Now, before we begin. Has anyone ever had any experience with flying?"

Astrid, Felicity and Isabella raised their hands.

"Only two of you?"

Isabella knew that Miss Hardbroom was choosing to ignore her, so she decided to do something about it. She tapped her broom and said "Hover". Then, she sat on it and flew a bit higher, so that everyone could see.

"ISABELLA HUBBLE!" Miss Hardbroom shrieked, shocking Isabella so much that she fell to the ground, her broom trailing after her. "How dare you show off like that? I shan't stand for it! I knew from the second I saw your name that we had gone too far this time. Get inside, now! I'll see you in the staffroom after dinner!"

"But, Miss, I was only -" the girl tried to defend herself.

"NOW!"

Isabella ran inside, feeling tears streaming down her face.

* * *

As Isabella stuffed some clothes into her bag, a knock came at the door.

"Go away!" she shouted.

"It's me, Astrid. Can I come in?"

"No! Go away! I don't want to speak to you! I'll probably turn you into a toad or something!"

"I have your broomstick."

Isabella rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Fine."

The door creaked open and Astrid walked in with Isabella's broomstick in her hand. It hadn't broken, despite falling to the ground. Isabella supposed she hadn't been too high. Luckily. She took the broomstick back, thanking the girl.

"Where are you going?" Astrid asked, looking round Isabella and seeing the bag, overflowing with clothes. "You aren't running away already, are you? It's the first day! Look, I know HB can be pretty tiresome but you'll get used to it. There's no point giving up now!"

Isabella shrugged.

"Yes, there is. HB didn't even me a chance, Astrid! She never will, just because I have the stupid Hubble name! My sister never got things right, my cousin never did, and now she doesn't think I will! But she doesn't know how hard I've worked. I've been learning spells since my cousin finished school. I've spent countless hours learning to ride a broom so I wouldn't mess up when it came to today, and now look what I've done!"

Astrid sat down next to Isabella on her bed.

"What _can _you do, then?"

Isabella smiled and pointed her hands at the candle on her bedside table.

"_Miaznum Vaporum, Efferium Futoom!" _she said, and the candle vanished in a puff of smoke. Astrid opened her mouth in awe.

"Cool! Can you bring it back?"

Isabella nodded.

"_Criento, Crimano, Vaporum Puffero!"_

The candle was back on the bedside table again, the last etches of pink smoke fading from its surroundings.

* * *

"So, Isabella Hubble, what do you have to say for yourself?" Miss Hardbroom asked as Isabella sheepishly walked into the staffroom.

Isabella stared at the ground.

"That I'm very sorry that -"

"_HB will never give me a chance, just because I've got the stupid Hubble name!"_

A sudden spark ignited in Isabella.

"I have come to say, Miss Hardbroom, that I am very sorry that you fail to recognise the fact that I am _Isabella_ Hubble. I do not bear the names of either Mildred or Henrietta and I am my own individual person. I have my strengths, I have my weaknesses. I have my skills, I have my failures. I am a human being, and therefore I deserve a chance to prove what I can do. So, for that reason, Miss Hardbroom and Miss Cackle: _Objectus Inertus, Areatus Convertus_!" Isabella pointed her arms towards a vase that stood on a shelf. It instantly turned into a magnificent, brightly coloured bird. It flew around the room, not hitting anything or knocking anything over or ruining anything at all.

"Isabella! Well done!" Miss Cackle smiled at the girl. "We don't teach that until second year! I trust you can change it back?"

Isabella nodded.

"_Reversus Revolvus, Returnus Resolvus, Illio, Allio, Transfutato Temporus!_"

Miss Cackle clapped as Isabella put the vase back in its place.

"Maybe _you_'ll have to teach Spells Class from now on!" she laughed politely.

Miss Hardbroom glared at Isabella.

"All that being very well, Miss Cackle, but Isabella still needs to be punished for her stupid performance in Broomstick Flying yesterday! I do not know what you were thinking, girl! You could have seriously injured yourself and possibly some of your other classmates!"

"I wouldn't have, Miss. I've flown before. You know I have, you saw me raise my hand. I was only trying to show you what I can do. I know it was quite an idiotic move but I wanted to get across my point."

"Which is?"

"It's that I'm not going to mess up like Mildred and Hettie did. I want to set an example for everyone else. I want to learn more about magic and how to use it proficiently and effectively. I want to...be the best witch in the entire school!"

**AN: Okay, I know the ending was slightly cringey, but oh well! I have a lot of ideas for this fanfiction and, if this story turns out popular, I will continue all the way to Isabella's fifth and final year at Cackle's Academy :)**


	2. Altus, Alta, Alto, Altissima!

**AN: I forgot to mention that, in the first chapter, the spell Isabella used to repuffify the candle, I made up. They never mentioned it in the show. Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed :) It means a lot. Whilst I introduce everything, it will seem cringey, sorry :P Also, to the guest who reviewed, I changed the T rating to a K+. I don't know why I put T. Hopefully I won't need to change it back any time soon! :) **

* * *

At breakfast the next day, Isabella told Astrid above the evening previous. The other girls at the table – Olivia, Kaitlin and Sophia – all seemed awed by the story, too.

"You must be so brave!" Sophia said, grinning. "Miss Hardbroom's the most petrifying teacher there ever was! According to my cousin, just one glance from her will make you melt!"

"I heard that just looking at her would turn you into a frog!" Olivia said.

"She's a wicked person. Thinks she's so much better than the rest and that she's the most powerful witch in the world," Kaitlin muttered, having pushed aside her cold porridge.

Isabella shook her head.

"No, I think we just misunderstand her. She means well, that's what Millie says. She just likes showing her...well-meaning side in a different light than the other teachers."

* * *

In her first Spells class, Isabella paid avid attention, although she already knew exactly what Miss Cackle was teaching: The Levitation Charm. After Miss Cackle helped the girls to raise a chair, she gave each of the girls a pencil pot that they were to levitate on their own. Isabella and Astrid had no trouble with this and theirs were floating just under the ceiling in a matter of seconds.

Behind them, Felicity was not happy that she was still struggling to keep her pencil pot up for more than a few moments. She was too busy being jealous of the two girls in front of her, as Miss Cackle kept on reminding the class how wonderful they were doing and insisted on smiling towards the children every five seconds.

"Fine, then," Felicity mumbled under breath, and then she began to mutter a spell so quietly that not even she could hear herself. When it was over, she pointed her little finger at the pot that Isabella was keeping in the air. It immediately flew out of Isabella's grasp and whizzed around the room, bumping off of walls, knocking books over and almost hitting some of the other students. Miss Cackle tried to stop it but the pot was too fast for her.

"_Inimicus Istus, Stoppus Resistus!" _Felicity chanted, and immediately the pencil pot stopped and fell to the ground. Miss Cackle picked it up and sighed in relief and gratitude.

"Thank you, Miss Goodcharm!" Miss Cackle applauded. "Isabella, how could you let that happen?"

Isabella shrugged.

"I don't know, Miss. I didn't do anything else other than levitate it, honestly!"

"Very well. Just be more careful next time. And maybe not as high?"

* * *

As soon as they had left Spells, Astrid blocked Felicity from walking any further.

"Just so you know, I'm not a total fool! I did hear you say that moving spell, you know. Good ears.

Felicity scowled.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Now, I'm going to go and practice flying so, if you wouldn't mind, please get out of my way." Felicity shoved her aside and marched on.

Astrid groaned, frowning at the girl's back.

"Ugh, I can't stand people like her. People who can't admit anything, even when they've been caught."

"Maybe we should teach her a lesson!" Sophia smirked. "Bell, you know transformation spells, right?"

Isabella shook her hold and folded her arms, looking around at her friends.

"No, I am not turning her into anything. My sister tried to do that once, to a mean girl called Ethel Hallow, and she ended up as a pig instead of a frog."

"Yes," Astrid said. "But you know the right spells, right? You've been studying magic for years, longer than any of us."  
"Of course I _know _the spells. I can turn her into anything from a tree to a tortoise. But I'm not going to. It's against the Witches' Code and it would probably give me five billion lines with HB."

"That it would, Miss Hubble," a sudden icy voice spoke behind them. The girls jumped and spun round. "Therefore I think you would find it wise not to listen to your little friends here. Miss Broomcurse, Miss Atherfew, I will see you in the Potions' Lab at nineteen hundred hours for encouraging such ideas."

"Yes, Miss Hardbroom," the two girls chanted.

When they walked off, Isabella apologised to Astrid and Sophia.

"No, it's our fault," they said. "We shouldn't have said anything."

As they came out into the courtyard, the girls saw Felicity hovering by one of the windows in one of the turrets, talking to a girl two years above them. She saw Isabella and her friends and smirked down at them, leaning closer to the girl and saying something in her ear. The two laughed.

"I've known her for two days and I already loathe her," Olivia said through gritted teeth. "I'd do anything to just fly up there and push her off that broom."

"She's so stuck up. She thinks she's better than everyone," Sophia moaned. "What do you think Kaitlin?"

There was no reply from the other girl.

"Kaitlin?" Astrid spun around, and gasped. "Izzy..."

Isabella looked and saw that Astrid was pointing to the sky. She looked up and covered her hands with her mouth, for Kaitlin was on her broom, flying higher and higher, ever closer to Felicity. The girl didn't see her, and the third year must have gone inside to fetch something. Felicity was waiting for her, looking into the castle.

"Kaitlin!" Isabella shouted, knowing full well what the girl was going to do. She meant it as more of a warning to Felicity, a way to get her to look, but she was too far down for her to hear her.

Kaitlin did not hesitate once she was next to Felicity. She rammed her broom into the girl and, shocked, she fell, screaming as she plummeted to the ground at an alarming speed.

_Think! _Isabella ordered herself.

Girls in the courtyard were screaming, too, horrified. There were only first years outside, and none of them knew what to do.

Then, Isabella thought of Spells class.

"_Altus, Alta, Alta, Altissima_!" she shouted, and waved her hands in Felicity's falling direction. Immediately, the girl stopped falling and began to gradually get higher and higher.

"Well done, Bella!" Sophia applauded. The other first years clapped.

Isabella smiled.

"Thanks! I couldn't think of any suspending spells, and this was the first thing I thought of."

Eventually, Isabella raised Felicity enough to allow her to get back on her broom. The girl flew down. Kaitlin was already on the ground.

"I'm going to get you back for that!" Felicity shouted at Kaitlin before she had even touched the earth. "How dare you? You could have killed me!"

"You have Hubble to thank that she didn't," one of the other girls came up behind her.

"Yes," Felicity pulled a sour face. "Thanks."

Isabella grinned.

"It's fine!"

Of course, she added just as much bitterness to her reply as Felicity had to her thanks.

* * *

Isabella paced outside Miss Cackle's office. Inside, she could hear the woman speaking furiously to Kaitlin.

"Don't, Bell," Astrid said, trying to stop her friend from going in.

"Why not?" the Hubble answered. "If it weren't for me, Kaitlin would have never done that!"

"Actually," Olivia poked in. "It was me that said it."

"Yes, but you didn't tell her to do it, did you?" Astrid snapped back. She immediately apologised for sounding rude.

The girls had not noticed that their friend had already crept into the headmistress' office.

* * *

"So, you are telling us that it was your fault that Miss Goodcharm fell off her broom?" Miss Hardbroom circled Isabella and Kaitlin.

"Yes," Isabella said. "I was planning to keep her in the air all along, though – I only wanted to scare her, that's all. I had absolutely no intention of hurting her, ever."

Miss Cackle was leaning on her desk, looking at the two first-years over the top of her green, horn-rimmed glasses.

"Then why, Isabella, did Felicity report to me that it was Miss Kavensworth here who shoved her off of her broomstick?"

Luckily, Kaitlin was a fast thinker.

"Because she wanted to get back at me. I was the one who sabotaged Isabella's pot in Spells, Miss Cackle, because I thought I could directly hit Felicity from that angle, easily. But it messed up and instead I sent it flying around the room. I almost did hit her, though, and she saw, and that's why she wanted to put me into a trouble of some sort."

The two adults in the room glared at Isabella, waiting for her response.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I think that's what happened."  
"And why did young Miss Kavensworth wish to harm Miss Goodcharm?" Miss Hardbroom questioned, sharply and coldly.

"I didn't like the look of her."

"What a petty excuse," Miss Cackle said. "You will be in detention with Miss Hardbroom, every night for the next four weeks. She will decide what you will do. Leave."

Kaitlin obeyed, leaving Isabella in the room, alone with the two adults.

"Naturally, Miss Hubble, we should expel you from the school," Miss Cackle spoke, frowning at the child.

"Naturally," Miss Hardbroom repeated, smiling slightly.

"However," the headmistress carried on, removing the minute etch of a grin off of her colleague's face. "As you are still new here, and you seem to have great potential, and both your sister and your cousin eventually ended up excelling in their studies, I am allowing you to stay. The fact that Miss Goodcharm seems to be okay helps you, as well. However, you will take the time during your break to make all of the beds on the first year floor. You will also clean and prepare all broomsticks in the morning, which you will wake up before the rising bell for. You are forbidden from doing any practical work in all classes for the next four weeks; instead, you will complete worksheets or observe what the class is doing and write everything down, depending on your teacher's will. You will be given extra homework for the next two weeks, to be handed in the next day, along with your regular homework. On top of that all, you will attend an hour long detention thrice a week for the next three weeks. Understood?"

"Yes, Miss Cackle."

"Good. Let this be a lesson to you. We will not have girls at this Academy behaving like this! Now, off with you."

Isabella walked out of the office, wishing she had not entered it in the first place.

* * *

**AN: Okay, yeah, this chapter is a bit cringey as well. There is reason I decided to write it, though. Hopefully the reasoning for the...events of this chapter will make sense soon. Also, I think I'll update this every five days or so (two days to write, two days to edit, and one day to either make sure I like it or upload it early). Again, thank you! :)**


	3. The Basic Broomstick Aptitude Test

**AN: I am so so so so so so sorry for not updating! School started and I also got halfway through writing this chapter when I remembered the Basic Broomstick Aptitude Test. Again, hopefully the events of this shall make sense in a few chapters time! :)**

The next few weeks were almost unbearable for Isabella. No magic was allowed to be used to do any of the punishments she had been set. She rarely even used magic due to the practical ban in class.

The pupil didn't get to talk to her friends much, either; the second she finished lessons she rushed straight to the library to complete her double homework, which she received from both Spells and Potions. On nights on which the ordinary class was not set any (which was very rare in Miss Hardbroom's lessons), Isabella would be set double of the extra homework.

To be honest, though, it wasn't as if Astrid, Sophia and Olivia were particularly happy with Isabella, because of her protecting Kaitlin. Isabella tried to talk to Kaitlin as much as she could, but there didn't seem to be any time for anything.

Detentions were served with Miss Hardbroom every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, beginning at seven. They were rather dull – the teacher made Isabella clean up the classroom, wipe the blackboard, sort potion ingredients and wash equipment. If there was any time left, the girl would have to write out, as many times as she could, "I must respect and support the safety of my fellow peers".

* * *

Halfway through her punishment, Isabella was allowed to take the Basic Broomstick Aptitude Test. She went fifth, after Felicity and before Sophia. Astrid, who went first, almost failed; the ring of garlic that she needed to throw over the pole nearly missed, but it, thankfully, didn't.

When it came to Felicity's turn, Miss Hardbroom would not take her eyes off of Isabella. Many of the other girls also looked at her, and the ones who had witnessed Kaitlin push Felicity off of her broom seemed very sorry for Isabella. She was being separated from the rest of them.

Felicity passed elegantly. When she landed, she smirked at Isabella (and Kaitlin, for, although she had not told Miss Cackle the truth after Isabella stood up for her friend, she still seemed to hold more of a grudge towards Kaitlin) and walked off into the crowd to find someone to talk to. Isabella went up and ordered her broom to hover and sat on it. It immediately flew away, and the Hubble girl circled around in the air before retrieving her garlic. She then gently lowered down, preparing to go into the tunnel. She had never flown in such a small space before.

Everything seemed to be going swimmingly well once she entered the Tunnel of Doom but, about halfway through, she felt something fall over her. Everything went dark, even darker than it had been already, and Isabella couldn't see where she was going. She lost control of the broom and felt it tumble, but it did not fall. Instead, it flew higher, dragging the fabric of the tunnel with it. Isabella furiously waved at it, but it refused to go – it seemed to stick to her broom. She had completely lost control.

"No! Help!" she cried, but she couldn't see or hear anyone trying to aid her. She couldn't see or hear anyone at all.

"Down!" she ordered her broom, and it dropped to the ground. To her shock, it just fell instead of gradually decreasing height, but it didn't fall on the cold stone of the Cackle's Academy courtyard.

It fell into a mixture of mud and grass.

Eventually, the witch managed to untangle herself from the broken tunnel. She saw that she was sitting in the forest, a good ten metres away from the courtyard wall. The hustle of the crowd wondering where she had gone could be heard.

Isabella could also hear Miss Hardbroom, who was furiously shouting after her. Within seconds, the teacher had appeared in front of her, arms crossed, face as pointed and angry as ever.

"Isabella Hubble! How _dare _you pull such a stunt? Especially considering the tricky position you are in already!"

Isabella couldn't bring herself to say anything. Here she was, sitting in a tangled mess of broomstick, tunnel canvas and earth, in front of the scariest teacher in the school, speechless. This was exactly where she didn't want to end up.

"Well?" Miss Hardbroom appeared to be growing impatient.

"I-I...I don't k-know what happened, Miss! One minute I was flying and then I just lost control completely!"

The teacher's eye twitched.

"Lost control? Miss Hubble, it was your desire, at the beginning of the year, to set a different impression than those that we were given by your relatives. However, you have made more of a fool of yourself than them! If this does not persuade the headmistress to expel you, I do not know what shall!"

Then, Isabella found that Miss Hardbroom had magically transported them to the school courtyard, canvas and all. Everyone crowded around, waiting to see what would happen.

The only thing that did happen was that Isabella stood up and shook the canvas off of her. Her broomstick, which her mother had brought brand new after realising that Mildred's school one was a bit old, was snapped and many bristles had fallen and were still falling out.

"Isabella!" Miss Cackle stood forward, a frown deeply etched onto her face, so strong and so fierce that it seemed it might never erase. "What on earth were you thinking? Was this some bid for attention, some way to distract your fellow students from their task? Whatever the reason, I am extremely disappointed."

Isabella was lost for words, something she wished she would never have to be during her time at school.

"It wasn't her fault, Miss Cackle!" someone shouted, and Isabella turned around to see one of the girls in her form, Lucy, step forward and point at Felicity. "I saw her mutter something and then point her hands at the tunnel, just as Isabella was entering it. It collapsed almost immediately after."

Felicity's mouth hung open and she faced the girl.

"I did _not _cast a spell on her! How dare you accuse me of such a thing?"

Another few girls stepped forward.

"We saw it too, Miss Cackle."

"I did, too," one of the girls from another form said, watching from a window. More people agreed that they had seen Felicity curse the tunnel, until there was a massive echo of voices.

"QUIET!" Miss Hardbroom shouted, and the noise instantly vanished. She turned to Miss Cackle, waiting for her to speak.

"Felicity Goodcharm," the headmistress began. "I cannot begin to explain how utterly disgusted I am at this. Do not try to convince me otherwise; there are too many witnesses to try and argue with their judgement. You will be punished, just like Miss Hubble has been. You will help the kitchen staff bring all meals up to the dining room. After Miss Hubble has finished her broom cleaning sentence, you shall resume it. You will have to retake your Broomstick Test and you are also going to be given double homework, due in for the next day, for the next four weeks. You will write a formal apology to Isabella, myself and Miss Hardbroom, and you will say sorry to the girls who have now had to have their Tests delayed. Go to your room now! The kitchen staff shall expect you downstairs half an hour before dinner."

Felicity stuttered, and then rushed inside. Isabella felt slightly sorry for her, but immediately tried to wash any such feelings away.

"Miss Hardbroom, if you would please rid of this broken mess?" Miss Cackle asked, and then walked inside, looking mortified. Miss Hardbroom waited for her to go in and then pointed her hand at the canvas. With a blue flash, it vanished, leaving Isabella standing in a pile of broken broomstick and twigs. Her hair was messed up from the nature of the forest and her left sleeve was slightly torn.

"Miss Hardbroom, what am I going to do about my broomstick?" Isabella asked, sounding scared.

"Well, I suppose you shall have to ride Felicity's until her parents buy you a new one," the potions-mistress said, and she vanished.

Astrid instantly came forward and helped Isabella clean up the broomstick mess. After that, she went and put Felicity's broomstick under Isabella's name. The class put their broomsticks away and walked inside.

* * *

Towards the end of Isabella's punishment, as she was cleaning the broomsticks one foggy six o'clock, Astrid walked into the courtyard, donning her cloak to keep her as warm as she could get. Isabella didn't see her at first, but heard her walk through, some brooms rustling because of the long cloak. She looked up.

"Hey," Isabella said, continuing to brush the broom she was holding. She made sure it was perfect and put it aside.

"Good morning," Astrid shivered, holding her cloak tighter. "How many have you got left?"

"That was the last for Form Four. Just got the twelve in Five to do now. Shouldn't be too hard because they clean their brooms anyway. How long until the rising bell?"

Astrid shrugged.  
"About twenty minutes? I don't know, the alarm clock was all fuzzy, I tripped twice coming out here. It's too early! I don't know how you do it."

Isabella laughed slightly, picking out a small stone from one of the broom's bristles.

"It's either that, or go home."

"I'd choose the latter, thanks," Astrid joked, leaning against a beam.

"I promised everyone I'd be different. If I went home, I'd be letting down Millie and Hettie, and I'd hate to do that."

Astrid picked up a broom.

"Do you want some help?"

"No," Isabella shook her head. "If Miss Hardbroom comes out here and catches us, both of us will be worse than dead. Thanks, anyway. Why don't you go inside and catch some more sleep?"

"Yes," Miss Hardbroom's crisp voice spoke, although from where Isabella could not place. "Why don't you, Miss Atherfew?"

The Potions teacher appeared just inside the broom-shed, her arms folded. She was already dressed and her hair was pulled up into its usual, pulling bun. She did not seem to be at all affected by the cold or earliness of the early morning.

Neither of the girls spoke, frightened out of their wits. They were shivering even more than they had been before. Miss Hardbroom's glare beamed down at them, so fixed that both of the girls thought she was using X-ray vision to stare into them.

"Well?!"

"Um..." Astrid couldn't think of anything to defend herself.

"She was just...coming out to tell me that I only had twenty minutes left, Miss Hardbroom," Isabella spurted, hoping the story would be believable enough. She crossed her fingers behind her back, but immediately released them, remembering what she had thought about Miss Hardbroom and X-ray vision.

"In full uniform?" the teacher raised an eyebrow.

"I take forever to get to sleep, Miss," Astrid said quickly. "I would never have fell asleep again, so I just decided to dress fully."

"And the cloak?"  
"To keep me warm."

Miss Hardbroom looked at both of the girls before speaking.

"Very well. However, Miss Atherfew, I would gladly remind you that Miss Hubble is to complete this work on her own and on time, and the last thing she needs is your company to distract her. Therefore, I wish you would please re-enter the building. I suppose some studying wouldn't hurt."

"No, Miss Hardbroom, it wouldn't."

Isabella watched as Astrid sulked inside, Miss Hardbroom walking briskly behind her. As soon as the doors shut, the girl got back to work.


End file.
